Texas Rep. Jolanda Jones releases statement after staff resigns; 'I cannot remain quiet about my outrage'
HOUSTON - Texas Representative Jolanda Jones released a statement following accusations from her staff about a hostile work environment.
On March 30, the senior staff of Jones released a letter where they say Rep. Jones would get staff involved in personal affairs, made staff feel unsafe, threatened to fire staff, and more.
In the letter to Rep. Jones, the staff opened by saying, "We, as a collective of senior staff, have repeatedly attempted to curb your behavior and address the type of work environment you have bred over the last month. But, to no avail; we haven't seen any success. You have continued to endorse, encourage, and create an abusive and hostile work environment in the workplace without accountability for you or your relatives’ actions."
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On Wednesday, Jones released a statement where she says, "I welcome that investigation [into the allegations] and look forward to being vindicated of any wrongdoing, and therefore will not speak to those allegations towards me directly as to not impede the work of the House General Investigating Committee."
Jones also goes on to share how the intern who was identified as allegedly being in an inappropriate relationship with her son denies any wrongdoing and is outraged by other allegations made about her son.
"I stand with all victims of sexual harassment, assault, and abuse. I simply can not let these unfair and unsubstantiated issues, go unanswered, especially when their alleged victim emphatically and unequivocally denies them," Jones goes on to say.
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Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan reportedly gave this statement regarding the allegations: "On Wednesday, the Speaker’s office learned of complaints against a member of the Texas House of Representatives. The allegations are under review by the appropriate entities, as outlined in the rules of the Texas House. The Speaker’s office takes all allegations seriously and expects that this matter will be addressed and resolved as soon as possible."